


Judgement

by Richter_DL



Category: Dark Heresy, Warhammer 40.000
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Major Character Injury, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-31
Updated: 2012-07-31
Packaged: 2017-11-11 07:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/475963
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Richter_DL/pseuds/Richter_DL
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It takes all kinds of people to fight heresy. But sometimes, that fight becomes heretical itself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Judgement

Debris of a fierce battle fought here littered the ground, broken bodies of fellow acolytes and dark machinery. The twisted gate had cracked open. The cog-skull adorning it had been perverted into a daemonic visage and it was split in half; red, fleshy strains emerged from within. It had opened just enough for one person to pass.

"Anyone alive, report", she spoke voxed hoarsely. None replied. Millicent gritted her teeth. Now it was her duty to end Arch-heretek Aureus. Her armour and body torn and bruised, she was too stubborn to die. She owed that to them all. The Battle Sister slipped through the crack and braced for her final fight.

Death greeted her, and a sweeter scent - Eldar blood. She had fought them before. Their moves were liquid lightning, striking from every direction. She bore many old scars from their blades. Like now, only determination and faith had won that battle. And they had killed Antigone. Millicent's fury matched the Eldar bladedancers'.

Xeno bodies lay between tech-brute ruins. Destroyed machinery sparked, torn by blades no armour could stop. The forge's heart had been utterly destroyed. The Eldar artefact was shattered, bone-crystal strewn over its pedestal-socket connecting it to the heretek’s mad dream. Part of her was relieved, part furious at the Eldar for taking her victory from her. And part wondered what had brought them here.

She found Aureus slain behind the destroyed artefact, savaged, hacked to pieces, like his minions and creations. Eldar carcasses lay between more tech-abominations that had tried in vain to defend their master.

But what shocked Millicent to her core her was the figure standing over Aureus' body, surrounded by four xenos, Eldar - three shrieking bladedancers, one of their witches with that impossible helmet - and one more familiar, one of her hands holding an Eldar blade. "It can't be ..." the battle sister whispered.

Growing up in the Scholam facilities had been hard, but Antigone and Millicent had bonded fast, each supplementing the other’s weaknesses. Antigone explained theology and philosophy to Millicent, and the war-like Millicent had kept fellow scholamites off Antigone’s back, the older semesters who had hounded for sins and weaknesses in word, out of sport really. Their ways had parted then, a different fate dictated for each, and merged again, with Antigone’s ascent to Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and Millicent joining her acolytes.

"We haven't spoken for too long, Millicent", a familiar voice greeted her. Millicent recoiled, sick to her stomach upon seeing the alien technology fused with Inquisitor Antigone's body. "Antigone ... what did they do?" Her hand gripped her sword, every fibre of her body tightening, preparing for a fight her heart screamed not to start, not against her. "Why?"

Unexpectedly, Antigone's hand let go of the xenotech sword. She struggled to stand, apparently wounded herself. She gestured, and the xenos stepped back.

"Millicent, I am sorry. I have seen things ... the Eldar are not our enemies. We have much in common, if we could cooperate, learn ..."

"Heresy!" spat Millicent, still battle-ready.

"Heresy? To learn from those who know is heresy? To accept help when you need it is heresy?"

"They are xenos, they resent man, and deceive you with their lies. There is no friendship among the stars!"

"Millicent, please listen. I know the doctrines and ideology as well as you do, we learned together, do you remember? But they are wrong."

"What? How can you ... I don't know what you are, but Antigone Stercas would never ..."

Antigone looked at her with sadness. "If only you could have seen what I have seen. If only you weren't so ..."

"Faithful? True?"

Antigone nodded, smiling sadly. "Stubborn", she added.

"I'll never be part of your schemes", the battle sister spat.

"You already were. You helped me collect the artefacts, protect their heirloom."

Millicent took a step back, as though she had been hit in the face. Realization struck her with the force of a hammer. "You ... said to destroy..." she weekly retorted, but now saw this for the lie it had always been. "How long ...?"

"I beg your forgiveness", Antigone said."We go so far back, but I feared you wouldn't understand ... I'm sorry."

The chainsword in Millicent's hand took on enormous weight, slipped from her fingers. Trusty steel clattered between shards of tech-heresy.

"Millicent, please. Please understand me", Antigone pleaded. "If only for what we share, what we are ... sisters."

Millicent’s hands clenched, and something in her broke. "I remember, Antigone. I cannot forgive myself, not being there. The Eldar killed you. I should have died with you."

“No ...” Antigone stepped to her. Her hand, warm, soft and reeking of inhumanity, cupped Millicent's cheek, and the Battle Sister couldn't move away. "I had a beacon. The Eldar knew me, they healed me, and I pleaded with them to join me in preventing Aureus’ scheme. They did. We won."

"No", Millicent said. "You lost. You died." Her voice was distant. "You are long gone."

Antigone's thumb stroked her cheek. She knew that look in Millicent’s eyes. "Please, Millicent ... it doesn't have to end like this ..."

Tears. Millicent hadn't seen Antigone cry since the Schola had torn them apart. Inquisitor Antigone had been as stern and cold as was expected. Millicent's left hand touched Antigone's, ceramite armour gently stroking skin. Antigone still looked enough like her old self that Millicent could not prevent old feelings from flaring up again. But she had to do her duty. Her other hand drew her Schola Progenum combat knife.

"Please. Think of what we could achieve, for all mankind ..." Antigone pleaded one last time. The Xenos stepped closer, but Millicent didn’t care about them now.

The knife had been awarded to all who made Scholam Martial Basics. It was Millicent's good-luck charm ever since. Antigone had one too, the course had been mandatory. The thing she had become looked at Millicent melancholy, but unwilling to fight, her eyes closed.

The monoblade pierced Antigone's Eldar armour with ease, its hilt met the armour's bone-crystal. Antigone gasped in pain. The battle sister let go of the blade and Antigone, drawing her bolt pistol. Time to end the xenos.

Antigone’s arms wrapped around Millicent, pulled her close in a last embrace. "Emperor forgive me", Antigone whispered, barely audible, into Millicent's ear, as her fingers hit the bolt pistol's magazine release, and shells clattered to the floor. The chambered shot rang as Antigone forced Millicent's trigger-finger forward. The Xenos vanished in an explosion of light, hazy through Millicent's tears, their teleport's crackle drowning out Antigone's final breaths.

Millicent fell to her knees, not letting go of Antigone's body. She whispered prayers for her soul, a hand absent-mindedly caressing the dead woman's hair. She felt life flowing from her wounds. Millicent closed her eyes, certain she would soon join her on the last travel to Terra.


End file.
